Man City have a secret advantage that makes up for Pep Guardiola's small squad

It was towards the end of April this year when something rather unusual happened to Manchester City.

With City fighting to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League while also desperately fending off a title sabotage attempt from Liverpool, the injuries started to mount and by the time Real Madrid visited the Etihad Stadium at the end of the month, Pep Guardiola's squad was looking worryingly thin.

Because of City's wealth and quality of player, critics scoffed at Guardiola's criticisms of the packed fixture schedule. Despite their claims though City's squad was not - and still isn't - as deep as many of their rivals. At times during the title run-in City had as few as 13 senior players available for selection, the need to play an almost 37-year-old Fernandinho at right-back against Real Madrid evidence of their stretched resources.

READ MORE: Man City give injury updates on John Stones and Aymeric Laporte ahead of Manchester United fixture

But that was an unusual situation for City. During Guardiola's tenure City have rarely faced injury crises, but it's not because they've had unlimited strength in depth. Not enough credit is given to how City look after their players off the pitch, and to the work the players and physio staff do to reduce the risk of injury.

In terms of players looking after themselves outside of training hours, Ruben Dias is the obvious role model. CityTV recently documented his dedicated lifestyle; he's no stranger to extra gym sessions, he's strict with his diet and he is often the first player to arrive for training.

The 25-year-old has had a few injury issues at City, but the fact that he has stared 74 per cent (and featured in 78 per cent) of City's games since he arrived at the club in